GRANDPARENTS may be able to reunite with their grandkids from as early as March under plans to ease restrictions, it has been reported.
Trending In The News revealed yesterday that families could reunite outside by Easter, as the Government draws up its blueprint for unlocking the nation.
Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
Brits will be able to meet up with one other friend to have a coffee on a park bench and even enjoy a picnic in the first easing of the Covid lockdown on March 8.
And ministers are said to be considering an exemption for kids from the one-to-one outdoor rule, which could allow grandparents to see their grandkids again with a parent.
Children under five are currently exempt from the ‘rule two’ outside, meaning parents can already take small children out with a grandparent.
But The Telegraph reports this could soon be extended to kids above five.
A Government source told the paper: “If grandparents had had the vaccine, that would be likely to be okay.
“Given that people will have immunity, that would be a fair assumption, but nothing has been decided.”
The eased measures would still likely include social distancing, meaning grandparents would not be able to hug their grandkids.
It comes after government sources claimed outdoor socialising will be the first to get the green light next month – followed by sports such as golf and tennis.
A senior government source revealed to Trending In The News over the weekend: “One of his first steps will be to relax the rules on people mixing outside.
“The PM thinks there should be no harm in two adults sitting on a park bench to enjoy a coffee and a chat. It’s a small but important step — one he hopes will start to raise people’s spirits.”
Boris Johnson is putting the final touches to his long-awaited roadmap out of lockdown, which he due to unveil on February 22.
The blueprint is not expected to set out specific dates for unlocking — except for schools.
Instead, it will lay out the sequence for getting businesses and social mixing up and running.
The three-stage plan will see schools reopen on March 8. Meeting a pal for a coffee outside is set to be allowed on the same day.
This will be followed by all non-essential shops opening, then pubs and restaurants will be allowed to serve punters outside.
The PM also wants to bring back the Rule of Six for outdoors — where the virus finds it far harder to spread.
But how fast things are done will all hinge on how good the hospital, infection and death rates look.
It comes as the UK smashed its target of vaccinating 15million vulnerable Brits two days early.
Over the weekend, an upbeat Mr Johnson said falling Covid rates are paving the way for the nation to get back to normal.
He told CBS News: “Thanks to the efforts of the British people, the lockdown, plus possibly the effect of the vaccine, we’re going to see the rates coming down more sharply.
“They’re falling at the moment. We want to be in a position where we can begin to open up.”
Just over two months after the jab blitz began — on December 8 — nearly one in four Brits have been vaccinated.
Mr Johnson said: “This country has achieved an extraordinary feat, administering a total of 15million jabs into the arms of some of the most vulnerable people in the country.”
By Saturday night, 15,062,189 Brits had received a first dose of the jab — 48 hours before its target.
